Thread: Thank you @FrancesHaugen for speaking to my subcommittee. I’m grateful for your courage & strength in standing up, speaking out, & sharing these bombshell documents. The evidence speaks volumes about how Facebook puts profits ahead of people. 1/
Facebook exploited teens using powerful algorithms that amplified their insecurities & dragged children into dark places. Facebook knows it’s doing harm to our kids' mental health & well-being, but they’ve continued using these tactics undeterred. 2/
It isn’t just that they use these practices, but they purposely fuel their bottom line with them. As Ms. Haugen so powerfully put it, Facebook maximizes profit & ignores pain. 3/
Facebook's failure to acknowledge & to act makes it morally bankrupt. Again & again, Facebook rejected robust reforms recommended by its own researchers. Last week, Ms. Davis said, “we're looking at,” no specific plans, no commitments, only vague platitudes. Unacceptable. 4/
Time & again we have seen that Facebook simply pays lip service to change, while people continue to get hurt. If they won't act, Congress has to intervene. 5

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Richard Blumenthal

Richard Blumenthal Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @SenBlumenthal

4 Oct
Like so many, I was deeply moved by Frances, who proved courageous, credible, & compelling on 60 Minutes. From her first visit with my office, I’ve admired her backbone & bravery in revealing terrible truths about one of the world’s most powerful, implacable corporate giants.
We now know about Facebook’s destructive harms to kids—harms that Facebook concealed & knowingly exploited to increase profits—because of documents Frances revealed.
Those documents show Facebook’s raw greed in dragging children to dark places & deepening insecurities, leading to online bullying, eating disorders, self-injury, even suicide.
Read 6 tweets
3 Oct
Justice Alito’s recent speech at Notre Dame was deeply improper—& gravely mistaken on both law & facts. Count the ways. 1/
cnn.com/2021/09/30/pol…
Alito’s very specific, pointed diatribe on court orders went well beyond proper public comments by a sitting Justice. 2/
Alito’s analogy of the Shadow Docket to EMT emergency procedures is insultingly wrong—doctors don’t cut medical corners; nor should the Court cut legal corners. 3/
Read 5 tweets
1 Oct
Thread: If trending can get more people interested in discussing Facebook’s heinous wrongs, let’s talk about it. This month a whistleblower approached my office to provide reports & documents about Facebook & Instagram. What they reveal is damning. 1/
We now know while Facebook publicly denies that Instagram is deeply harmful for teens, privately Facebook researchers/experts have been ringing the alarm. 2/
We now know that Facebook routinely puts profits ahead of kids’ online safety.

We know it chooses the growth of its products over the well-being of our children.

We now know it is indefensibly delinquent in acting to protect kids. 3/
Read 8 tweets
6 Sep
THREAD: My staff & I have worked night & day to secure the safe passage of two planes waiting in Mazar-e Sharif to take American citizens, at-risk Afghan allies, & their families to safety. 1/6
My office joined forces in this humanitarian mission with an incredible coalition of advocates—NGOs, former servicemembers, & journalists—to try & evacuate our fellow citizens & Afghan allies. 2/6
I haven’t yet spoken publicly about these efforts because we worried that heightened attention would only escalate tensions & put these people at even greater risk of being targeted. 3/6
Read 6 tweets
30 Aug
Today, as the last U.S. combat troops depart Afghanistan, I am deeply grateful for their service & for the sacrifices of an entire generation of war veterans. My heart is especially with the families of thirteen heroic servicemembers killed last week. 1/7
I am always thinking of the generation of war veterans who served in Afghanistan, including so many who stepped up again these last few weeks, leading the way in a Digital Dunkirk evacuating their Afghan friends & allies. 2/7
I am devastated for the tens of thousands of Afghan allies we are leaving behind: interpreters, drivers, & guides who risked their lives for our country; journalists & democracy advocates; women leaders. 3/7
Read 7 tweets
27 Aug
This is a powerful sign that Apple&Google’s stranglehold over app store markets is self-serving. These tech giants thought they could get away with squashing competition to pocket hefty windfalls—all while insisting their ironclad grip on app markets serves consumers/developers.
This marks a significant step forward, but does not rectify the full & vivid range of market abuses & practices still widespread across app markets that my & Senator Blackburn’s Open App Markets Act would address.
This move only adds to the momentum & further exposes rampant anticompetitive abuses in the app markets. The fox guarding the hen house status quo will remain until there are clear & enforceable rules for Apple & Google to play by.
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(